Reps. Israel and Honda Call on Japanese Government to Maintain Proper Awareness for ‘Comfort Women’
Concern over recent suggestion by new Japanese government to revise Japanese apology for forced sexual servitude during World War II

Washington, DC — Reps. Steve Israel (D–NY) and Mike Honda (D-CA) today called on the new Japanese leadership and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to maintain the proper awareness, education and apology for women who were forced into sexual servitude during World War II, also known as ‘comfort women.’ It has been suggested by the new government and Prime Minister Abe that the 1993 Kono Statement could be reversed.

Rep. Israel said, “Japan’s government must fully acknowledge, apologize for and increase awareness of its history of ‘comfort women.’ These survivors of physical, sexual and psychological violence that was sanctioned by the Japanese government deserve this apology. But beyond that Japan must prove to the rest of the world that it is willing to express sincere regret for a systematic atrocity that was committed in its country’s history in order to move forward as a democracy.”

Rep. Honda said, “While I congratulate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his recent election and look forward to his upcoming visit to the U.S., we cannot afford the time for revisions or retractions of past statements. Indeed, nothing is more important right now than for a democratic country like Japan to formally acknowledge and unequivocally apologize for its systematic atrocity. Government is a living, breathing organism that is responsible for its past, present and future. As someone who was put into an internment camp as an infant during World War II, I know reconciliation through government actions, to admit error, are the only ones likely to be long lasting. In order to move toward a more peaceful, global world, Japan must accept responsibility and apologize. The grandmothers – those survivors of physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetuated by Japan’s Imperial Army – are still waiting for an appropriate apology.”

During WWII, up to 200,000 women and girls were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. These women and girls were kept in 'comfort stations' in China, Taiwan, Borneo, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Indonesia and many of the Pacific Islands.

Women were abducted, deceived or sold by extremely poor parents. The majority of women were under the age of 20 and some were girls as young as 12. These women and girls were kept for months or years on end.

South Korean Kim Bok-dong, was one of those women. Now 90 years old, she was taken from her home village and abused as a ‘comfort woman’. Here she gives a rare insight into her horrific experience and her continued fight for justice.

Kim Bok-Dong, 90, raises awareness on gender violence.

I was 14 years old when I was forcefully drafted into sexual slavery by the Japanese government. They said they would hire me as a factory worker, but instead they dragged many of us to Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. I was with the army headquarters so I went almost everywhere with them.

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There are no words to describe what the soldiers did to me, from noon to 5pm on Saturdays and 8am to 8pm on Sundays. By the end of the day, I could not even sit up. After eight years of suffering, they placed me as a worker in an army hospital. Their intention was to hide any evidence of ‘comfort women’.

I did not even know when the war ended. When I came back home, I was 22. How could I tell anyone what happened to me? My parents kept telling me to get married, but I could not. So I had to tell them in the end. They did not believe it at first and then said at least it was very fortunate for me to survive all of that. It has been several decades since the end of the war but there has been no proper response from Japan. If our own government is not working on this issue, who should we talk to? This is why we are still fighting.

I got involved in the movement for ‘comfort women’ as soon as it started, so 20 years ago. One day, they were calling for reports from ‘comfort women’ survivors. So I called them. People came to find me and even a broadcasting company came to me as well. I don’t remember the exact date, but the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery came to me and I have been with them ever since. It was really difficult at first, but I could not sit back when all these people would come forward at the Wednesday Protests for us. Now, I also protest outside the embassy every Wednesday. We shout to call on the Japanese government to apologize. We have bonded over this period of time.

When I went to Vienna for the UN World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, many women around the world cried with us, for us. I really appreciate the support from other states. They speak as if they are ready to work with us right away. However, I believe they need to push Japan further if they really want to help us. And they do not seem to know that this didn’t just happen to Korean women. All those countries whose women suffered should co-operate more actively to protest against the Japanese government’s denial. All those countries probably know about the crimes and that it was wrong. They should cooperate [with each other] and urge Japan to accept recommendations and make this recent UN Universal Periodic Review Process important. I look forward to more actions than words that will help keep Japan under pressure.

Although several decades have passed, nothing has been resolved. When I hear about supporters from all around the world, I am just thankful and it gives me a hope that this fight may end really soon. I hope more and more people raise their voices for a resolution of this issue. Let’s stand strong and not give up. I also urge young women and students to join our fight for justice − your voices and your actions will be greatly appreciated.

I am now 90 and this is indeed tiring for me. But I want to receive an apology from the Japanese government myself. I am not doing this for money. I just want the Japanese government to regret their actions, take responsibility for what they did, apologise to all of us, and respect our human rights.

To all the women around the world, be strong. No war! No violence against women!

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that started on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.

The campaign hopes to raise awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international level. This year's theme is "Let's challenge militarism and end violence against women".

Blog about research trip,
2009-2012 to China, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines

Based on research since 2007, meeting Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Dutch, and Filipino "comfort women" survivors and a former Japanese soldier from W.W.II., this project involves billboards, Kiosk street posters, prints, audio and multi-channel video installation.

COMFORT WOMEN WANTED brings to light the memory of 200,000 young women, referred to as "comfort women," who were systematically exploited as sex slaves in Asia during World War II, and increases awareness of sexual violence against women during wartime.

The gathering of women to serve the Imperial Japanese Army was organized on an industrial scale not seen before in modern history. This project promotes awareness of these women, some of whom are still alive today, and brings to light a history which has been largely forgotten and denied.

The title, COMFORT WOMEN WANTED, is a reference to the actual text of advertisements which appeared in newspapers during the war. When advertising failed, young women from Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Netherlands were kidnapped or deceived and forced into sexual slavery. Most were teenagers, some as young as 12 years old, and were raped by as many as fifty soldiers a day at military rape camps, known as "comfort stations." Women suffered serial and gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and torture, sometimes resulting in mutilation, and even death. By some estimates only 30% survived the ordeal.

Whenever there's a war we hear about the suffering of soldiers, yet we hear almost nothing about the plight of women who are kidnaped and raped, or killed. Often it is the poorest and most marginalized elements of society who suffer most. Through out history women like this are too often invisible, forgotten and left with no place to turn.

The "Comfort Women System" is considered the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century. Much in the same way that acknowledgment and awareness of the Holocaust helps to insure it will not happen again, by acknowledging this issue we can prevent another generation of enslaved "comfort women" from happening anywhere ever again.

In the 21st century, human trafficking has surpassed drug trafficking to become the second largest business in the world after arms dealing. The "comfort women" issue illustrates the victimization which women suffer in terms of gender, ethnicity, politics, and class oppression, and how women are still perceived as a disposable commodity. This project promotes empowerment of these and all women, and seeks to establish a path toward a future where oppression is no longer tolerated.

On July, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H. Resolution 121, proposed by Mike Honda, Japanese-American Congressman, with 168 bipartisan cosponsors, calling for Japan's acknowledgment of the sexual enslavement of "Comfort Women," and acceptance of historical responsibility. Similar resolutions have passed in Canada, the Netherlands, the European Union, and Great Britain.

Ad-like Billborads, Kiosk Posters, and Prints:

The text COMFORT WOMEN WANTED is in black atop a red background. There are two black & white portraits of former "comfort women" when they were young, including a portrait of a Taiwanese "comfort woman" taken by a Japanese soldier during her enslavement. These images of the women are surrounded by gold leaf, suggesting the halo of a saint from Renaissance painting. These portraits of young "comfort women" are juxtaposed with silhouettes of aged former "comfort women" in their current homes. Of those who survived, many of the women never went back, or they were ostracized from their families and communities because of what was perceived as their "shameful past" in a conservative society cherishing women's chastity as ideal. For most of these women, the sense of home was forever destroyed. To highlight this fact the central image of the prints, rather than being a portrait, contains an empty silhouette.

Audio and Multi-Channel Video Installation:

Historian Suzanne O'Brien has written that

"the privileging of written documents works to exclude from history...the voices of the kind of people comfort women represent - the female, the impoverished, the colonized, the illiterate, and the racially and ethnically oppressed. These people have left few written records of their experiences, and therefore are denied a place in history."

In the audio installation, when people pick up a phone handset, they can hear the voices of "comfort women" survivors on one side which contrasts with the voice of a Japanese soldier on the opposite side.

In the multi-channel video installation, the Korean, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Chinese, and Dutch "comfort women" survivors, and a former Japanese soldier talk about their experiences at the military comfort stations, as well as their everyday hopes and dreams, and who they are as people. These women also sing their favorite traditional folk songs in Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, and Dutch. This presents the women as individuals rather than as victims and highlights the experiences we all share, in order to put these monumental events in context. These are the stories and voices of the survivors.

Another projection shows three videos simultaneously, of former military comfort stations in China and Indonesia. The three comfort stations depicted in the video are "Dai Salon," the first comfort station ever in Asia; "Mei Mei Li," a large complex of buildings in Shanghai; and an Indonesian comfort station which existed in a former Dutch officer's house in Java. This video is about the history and memory of place.

Despite growing awareness of the issue of trafficking of women and of sexual slavery as a crime against humanity, this particular recent historical event has gone largely unacknowledged. COMFORT WOMEN WANTED attempts to bring to light this instance of organized violence against women, and to create a constructive dialogue for the future by acknowledging their place in history.

Special Thanks:

My deepest respect and admiration for all of the courageous "comfort women" survivors I have met.

I encountered so many amazing women including Young Soo Lee (Korea), Wan Aihua (the first Chinese "comfort woman" to come forward in China), and Jan Ruff O'Herne (the first European "comfort woman" to come forward publicly), as well as Professor Jung Oak Yun and Professor Hyo Chae Lee, who began the movement in Asia to bring to light this particular history.

This project is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Grant,, the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Asian Cultural Council, and the Asian Women Giving Circle.

COMFORT WOMEN WANTED brings to light the memory of 200,000 young women, known as "comfort women," who were systematically exploited as sex slaves in Asia during World War II, and increases awareness of sexual violence against women during wartime.

Based on artist Chang Jin-Lee’s research since 2007 in Asia, (including Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia), meeting “comfort women survivors” and a former Japanese soldier from W.W.II,COMFORT WOMEN WANTED involves ad-like prints and multichannel video installation.

The gathering of women to serve the Imperial Japanese Army was organized on an industrial scale not seen before in modern history. This project promotes awareness of these women, some of whom are still alive today, and brings to light a history which has been largely forgotten and denied.

The title, COMFORT WOMEN WANTED, is a reference to the actual text of advertisements which appeared in Asia newspapers during the war. When advertising failed, young women from Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Netherlands were kidnapped or deceived and forced into sexual slavery. Most were teenagers, some as young as 12 years old, and were raped by as many as fifty soldiers a day at military rape camps, known as "comfort stations." By some estimates only 30% survived the ordeal.

Whenever there's a war we hear about the suffering of soldiers, yet we hear almost nothing about the plight of women who are kidnapped and raped, or killed. Often it is the poorest and most marginalized elements of society who suffer most. Throughout history women like this are too often invisible, forgotten and left with no place to turn.

The "Comfort Women System" is considered the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century. Much in the same way that acknowledgment and awareness of the Holocaust helps to insure it will not happen again, by acknowledging this issue we can prevent another generation of enslaved "comfort women" from happening anywhere ever again.

In the 21st century, human trafficking has surpassed drug trafficking to become the second largest business in the world after arms dealing. The "comfort women" issue illustrates the victimization which women suffer in terms of gender, ethnicity, politics, and class oppression, and how women are still perceived as a disposable commodity. This project promotes empowerment of these and all women, and seeks to establish a path toward a future where oppression is no longer tolerated.

About the Artists
Chang-Jin Lee is a Korean-born visual artist based in New York City. Her multicultural background and experiences have provoked in her an interest in investigating the diverse cultural and social/political issues in our current era.

She is a recipient of numerous awards including The New York State Council on the Arts Grant (New York), Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (New York), The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Grant (New York), The Franconia Sculpture Park Jerome Fellowship(New York), The Asian Women Giving Circle Award (New York), The New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscal Sponsorship Award (New York), The World Financial Center Sponsorship (New York) , The Puffin Foundation Grant, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council - Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop (New York) and The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Manhattan Community Arts Fund (New York).